Project Director

We Are Social; Los Angeles (CA); Hybrid; USD 150,000 - 210,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Passport program

Global offices

Snacks

Team celebrations

Carbon offsets

Job summary

We Are Social is seeking a Project Director to lead Agency Delivery and Operations with a blend of strategic leadership and hands-on project management. You will mentor PMs, optimize processes, and ensure teams are resourced to win for key accounts.

The role blends leadership with practical delivery, focusing on scalability, forecasting, and proactive problem solving across a global agency network.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in project management with a focus on agency operations, team management, resourcing, and process development.
• Proven track record mentoring junior PM staff and building scalable workflows.

Responsibilities

• Act as a hands-on, senior-level project manager for select, high-priority accounts.
• Oversee and mentor Project Managers and Senior Project Managers.
• Forecast project needs across the agency with the Head of Department.
• Ensure proper staffing and resource availability across projects.
• Create and optimize best-in-class PM processes across teams.
• Champion use of PM tools and adhere to best practices.
• Manage portfolio-level project profitability and budgets.
• Identify and propose solutions to resourcing or delivery risks.
• Sign off on deliverables at appropriate stages with stakeholders.
• Leverage AI in documentation and productivity tools.
• Drive proactive solutions to friction points within the organization.
• Forecast and manage complex project financials and budgets.

Skills

Project management

Agency operations

Team leadership

Resourcing

Process development

Mentoring

Communication

Tools

Asana

Workbook

Google Workspace

Slack

Job description

THE ROLE

We are looking for a Project Director to join our Agency Delivery and Operations department. This role is a hybrid of strategic leadership and tactical execution. While you will remain a hands-on, confident project director for select accounts, you will also play a critical leadership role in overseeing our project management teams, driving operational excellence, and ensuring our agency is resourced for success. You need to be a natural communicator and a confident leader who can mentor junior team members, implement scalable processes, and ensure internal teams and clients are set up to win.

WE ARE A creative agency powered by social connections. That means we thrive on what’s trending and creating campaigns that get people buzzing. We call it “Ideas Worth Talking About,” and we’re proud to have played a part in some of the most culturally relevant campaigns of the decade for brands like McDonald’s, Adidas, Universal Studios, and YouTube.

WHY YOU’LL LOVE IT HERE

• We like to laugh, we live for celeb gossip and we’re great on AUX
• Our passport program lets you explore and work from one of our 18 other offices worldwide, including Paris, Singapore, Madrid, Dubai, London and more
• You best believe we know how to celebrate our wins. And our losses (it’s how we learn)
• From carbon offsets to community kitchens, we’re passionate about making a difference
• Did we say snacks? Because we have great snacks (Shoutout to Sheila who keeps the kitchen stocked)

YOU ARE

• An operational leader who thrives in a fast-paced environment, responding quickly and proactively
• A systems and workflow minded thinker who consistently explores new ways of working and more efficient processes.
• Not interested in just following trends – you want to create them, both in campaigns and in internal agency processes
• A true collaborator who can quickly identify key people to connect with to inform decisions with full context.
• A self-starter, who’ll take ideas from concept to execution, navigating feedback like a pro and guiding junior team members to do the same

Agency experience is highly preferred for this role given the operational and resourcing focus. What matters is your deep understanding of agency dynamics.. This role is energetic, innovative and forward-thinking. In return, you’ll join a global agency dedicated to generating buzzworthy ideas for some of the world’s leading brands, while helping shape the operational backbone of our delivery teams.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Act as a hands-on, senior-level project manager for select, high-priority accounts, taking ownership and seeing projects through to successful completion

• Oversee, mentor, and guide Project Managers and Senior Project Managers, fostering their growth and ensuring high standards of work

• Partner closely with the Head of Department to forecast out project needs across the agency

• Ensure that the agency is properly staffed and resourced from a project management perspective, balancing team capacity with incoming client needs

• Create, install, and optimize best-in-class project management processes across all project management teams, driving consistency and efficiency

• Champion the proper use of project management tools, ensuring uniform adoption and best practices across the department

• Manage portfolio-level project profitability, tracking burn rates and budgets, and guiding your team to course-correct as needed

• Proactively anticipate and identify agency-wide resourcing or project-related issues and propose solutions before they impact delivery schedules

• Ensure all work is signed off at the right stages, by the right people (including internal and external partners)

• Leverage AI features within Google Workspace and other AI tools to automate step-by-step process documentation and supercharge team productivity

• Innovate with proactive solutions, using advanced tools (A.I. suite), for identified friction points within the organization.

• 5+ years of experience in project management with a strong focus on agency operations, team management, resourcing, and process development

• Proven track record of managing, mentoring, and developing junior project management staff (Project Managers, Senior Project Managers)

• Deeply familiar with agency turn-around times, resourcing, and ways of working, with a strong understanding of the dynamics of agency processes

• Demonstrated experience creating and rolling out new workflows, processes, and tool guidelines across teams

• Highly proficient with Google Suite and Slack, and an expert in project management tools (Knowledge of Asana and/or Workbook is strongly preferred)

• Strong understanding and experience in forecasting and managing complex project financials and portfolio budgets

• Knowledgeable on social platforms formats and guidelines

• Confident, collaborative and positive with a ‘can-do’ attitude

• Proactive in providing solutions when challenges are identified

• Detail-oriented and takes responsibility for fulfilling all components of team deliverables

• Working knowledge of A.I. tools and functions and previously implemented AI into your daily work

JOIN US

At We Are Social, we celebrate diverse perspectives and experiences. We welcome unique voices and talents, especially those not traditionally embraced by advertising. Discover more about our culture and our work.

We Are Social is an equal opportunity employer, committed to providing employment opportunities regardless of race, religious creed, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, age, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, or any other protected classification, in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. For California applicants, you may view We Are Social’s Privacy Notice for California Employees and Job Applicants at https://wearesocial.com/us/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2023/07/CA-Employee-and-Job-Applicant-CPRA-Notice.pdf